Potter's Angel
by SymphonySamurai
Summary: A sacrifice made during the final battle changes the course of the lives of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.


Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling. Thankfully she's nice enough to let us play in her sandbox.

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_Potter's Angel_

The great hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was in chaos. Minutes ago, Death Eaters led by Voldemort himself had emerged from the Forbidden Forest with the lifeless body of Harry Potter, the 'Boy-Who-Lived.' Inspired by his sacrifice, the surviving fighters for the light had taken to the battle with a renewed vigor. The battle was raging more fiercely than ever when the entire hall was shocked by the sudden reappearance of Harry Potter, very much alive. He was valiantly dueling his lifelong nemesis when the unthinkable happened.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

The defenders watched in horror as the wand sailed from Harry's grip to be caught by a smirking Draco Malfoy.

"I'll be taking my wand back now, Scarhead," he sneered. "I think you've borrowed it long enough."

All eyes turned from Draco to the Dark Lord, who stood gazing at Harry with a look of cruel contempt. Quick as a flash he snapped his wand out and screamed the killing curse, dropping Draco where he stood. Through his shock, Harry barely registered that the power of the Elder Wand had just been broken.

"Such dishonor has no place in my new world," Voldemort hissed. "You will all do well to remember this lesson after I have taken my rightful place as your liege lord." With a vicious sneer, he turned and aimed his wand directly at Harry's chest. "And now, you learn the price of defiance."

With a vicious slash, a sickly purple beam appeared and sped toward the defenseless boy. Just before it reached him, its path was blocked by the flying form of Ginny Weasley, who grunted as the spell slammed into her chest. The force of the blow threw her backwards into Harry, sending them both sprawling to the ground. They were immediately joined by Hermione Granger, who cradled the injured girl's head in her lap. As Harry began frantically checking her for injuries, Ginny grabbed his hands tightly in her own.

"Harry!" His eyes snapped to hers and the look of concern she saw there melted her heart. "Harry, I'm fine, really. The spell barely grazed me." At his disbelieving look, she pressed her wand into his hand. "There's no time Harry, you have to finish this." She threw her hand behind his neck and drew him in for a searing kiss. Breaking apart after a moment, she looked deep into his eyes. "I love you Harry. Now, go kill that bastard already!" With a quick nod to both of them, Harry stood and turned to face his enemy, Ginny's wand clenched tightly in his hand. As the two circled each other, trading taunts and insults, Ginny finally allowed a grimace of pain to cross her features. Even though neither girl had taken their eyes from the confrontation in front of them, Hermione once again proved just how observant she was.

"That was very brave of you," she said.

"Please Hermione, you know he would jump in front of the killing curse for any of us without a second thought," Ginny replied through teeth clenched in pain.

"That's true, but I was referring to the way you lied your arse off to him just now."

"I…don't know what you're…talking about." Hermione winced in sympathy at the pain in Ginny's voice.

"I recognized that spell Gin, and I know it hit you." Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes as she spoke aloud what they both knew.

"You're dying."

Tears sprang to Ginny's eyes and she simply nodded her head in acceptance of her fate. Hermione clutched the younger girl's hand tightly, each drawing support from the other as they watched the two most powerful wizards in the world sling spells at each other a few feet away. Despite the clash of spellfire and the cries of fury from the two combatants, Ginny's voice carried easily to Hermione's ears.

"Promise me something Hermione," she said. Hermione nodded her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. "Promise me that you won't make the incredibly stupid mistake of choosing Ron over Harry." Hermione's eyes bulged and she looked down into Ginny's unblinking gaze.

"Ginny…I…you…what?" Ginny smiled faintly at her friend's flustered response.

"I said, promise me that you won't choose my childish, insecure, ill-tempered, ill-mannered prat of a brother over noble, caring, funny, intelligent, gorgeous, and very much in love with you Harry Potter." Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock.

"But…but Harry loves you, not me!" Ginny shook her head gently, grimacing from the effort.

"Yes, he loves me, but he's _in love_ with you. There's a big difference." As Hermione drew a breath to object, Ginny cut her off. "No Hermione, listen. You two have been inseparable for 7 years. The fact is that you've been Harry's girl since first year, and he loves you more than anyone else in the world. He's always been yours; I only borrowed him from you for a little while." Hermione grimaced as she saw more than physical pain reflected in Ginny's eyes.

"Don't worry about me Hermione, I wouldn't trade my time with him for anything, but now it's your turn. You and I both know that you're the only person who can love him the way he deserves, and we both know that Ron can never be what you need him to be. Harry needs you Hermione, and whether or not you admit it, you need him just as much." Any further conversation was cut off by a great celebratory roar from all around them.

Looking up, the girls saw Harry standing over the lifeless form of Lord Voldemort, panting with exertion. Looking around at the crowd surrounding him, his eyes soon found them and he immediately began jostling his way through his well-wishers to reach them. When he finally did, he knelt and gently took one of Ginny's hands in his.

"It's over Gin, he's gone. I couldn't have done it without you, either of you." He looked up and gave Hermione a warm smile before turning his attention back to Ginny. "Now, let's get you to Madame Pomphrey so she can patch you up."

"No, Harry," she said, tightening her grip on his hand. "It's too late for that. I may have kinda lied to you when I said I was fine." Harry slumped in disbelief as her words hit home. He broke into choking sobs and threw his arms around her, letting her run her fingers through his hair as she whispered soothing words into his ear.

"Shh, Harry, it's ok. It'll all be ok, I promise." Harry sat up to look into her eyes.

"How can you say that? That curse was meant for me, it should be me laying here. What am I gonna do without you?" Ginny smiled weakly at him.

"Oh Harry, I'll always be with you. Besides, you have Hermione to take care of you now, you'll be just fine." Her smile faded and her eyes lost their focus, as if she was looking at something that nobody else could see.

"It's time for me to go, Harry. I love you, and I'll be waiting to hold you again." She drew Harry and Hermione's hands together in her own, and with a peaceful smile, she closed her eyes and took her last breath. Harry and Hermione felt a comforting warmth from Ginny's wand in their hands as a voice, barely above a whisper, spoke to them through their tears.

"_I'll always be with you._"

**_15 years later_**

The bell tinkling over the door of Ollivander's Fine Wands alerted the old man that another customer had just entered his shop. Shuffling from behind a shelf stacked with dusty wand boxes, Ollivander spied a young girl slowly making her way to the counter. Her red hair lay straight and shiny down her back as her bright green eyes roamed the shop, wide with curiosity. Ollivander was struck by a strange feeling of déjà vu, but dismissed it quickly. Finally reaching the counter, the girl turned her gaze to the old man and smiled brightly.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Ollivander. I've heard all about you of course. I'm here for my first wand. I'm going to Hogwarts this year. Can my wand have a unicorn hair in it? They're my favorite." Ollivander smiled at the young witch's enthusiasm, but before he could answer her the door opened again to admit four more people, two adults and two children. The girl in front of him turned and smiled brightly.

"Hi mum, hi daddy! I was just asking Mr. Ollivander if he could give me a wand with a unicorn hair in it!" Her father chuckled good-naturedly.

"Now petal, remember what we told you. The wand chooses the wizard, isn't that right Mr. Ollivander?"

"Right you are, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said before taking the girl's measurements. After trying quite a few wands, they finally found a 9-1/2 inch willow wand with a hippogriff hair core. While the girl happily sprayed red sparks from her new wand, Ollivander turned to her smiling parents.

"I must say that it is a great pleasure to see you and your family, Mr. Potter." Harry smiled at the old man.

"And you as well, Mr. Ollivander. I believe you know my wife, Hermione?" The old man smiled at the beautiful witch on Harry's arm as his mind conjured up an image of bushy hair, slightly large front teeth, and the same wide-eyed curiosity that her daughter now showed.

"I do indeed. Wonderful to see you again Mrs. Potter."

"Hello Mr. Ollivander," Hermione said, "it's been too long. These three are our children, James Sirius, Emma Rose, and our oldest, Ginerva Lily. She's starting Hogwarts this year." Ollivander took a moment to look at each child as they were introduced. James was the spitting image of his father, with messy black hair and piercing green eyes. Emma had more of her mother in her, her expressive chocolate eyes framed by a head of bushy black hair. Ollivander instantly saw the resemblance Ginerva bore to Harry's mother, which brought a fond smile to his face.

"Mr. Ollivander," she said, "is it true that you can remember every wand you've ever sold?"

"Why yes it is, my dear," he said. Turning to Hermione he said, "vinewood, 10-3/4 inches, with a dragon heartstring core." With a twinkle in his eye he turned to Harry. "11 inches, holly, and a very unique core made from the feather of a phoenix. I trust that wand is still serving you well?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander, but that wand was broken during the war," Harry replied. Ollivander shook his head sadly.

"Such a shame. That wand was one of my finest creations. I take it you've acquired a suitable replacement?" Smiling, Harry withdrew a wand from his robes and handed it to the wandmaker, who began to examine it closely.

"Hmm…10-1/2 inches…cherry…with the heartstring of a particularly fierce Hungarian Horntail. It seems that this wand has a particularly strong connection to both of you. Most peculiar." Harry and Hermione shared a knowing smile.

"We know," Hermione said. "It was given to us by a dear friend." Ollivander's eyes lit up in recognition as he nodded and handed the wand back to Harry, who gently returned it to his robes. After a few more minutes of exchanging pleasantries, Harry paid for Ginerva's wand and began leading his family to the door. On their way out, Ollivander caught a snippet of conversation before the door closed.

"Daddy, who gave you and mommy your wand?"

"Why don't we head over to Fortescue's for some ice cream and we'll tell you all about her."

As the door closed, Ollivander couldn't help but to think back to the other red-headed girl he had originally sold Harry's wand to many years ago. Everyone knew her story of course. The youngest of seven children, and the only girl, Ginny Weasley was in her sixth year at Hogwarts when the castle was attacked by Voldemort and his forces. During the famous Battle of Hogwarts, she threw herself in front of a curse meant for Harry Potter, allowing him to defeat the Dark Lord at the cost of her own life. She was posthumously awarded the Order of Merlin First Class and laid to rest in a place of honor in the cemetery in Godric's Hollow next to the graves of James and Lily Potter. For fifteen years Harry and Hermione Potter refused to discuss their fallen friend, and would continue to do so for the rest of their lives. It was a well-known fact that the Potters visited her grave every year on the anniversary of the battle, but the media could never get through Harry's wards to hear what they said to her.

Ollivander smiled as he remembered something else. After dubbing Harry the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and later the 'Man-Who-Won,' the media was quick to assign Hermione Potter the moniker 'the Warrior Witch' due to her fierce performance during the final battle. Therefore it seemed only natural for Ginny Weasley to receive her own nickname. Many names came and went over the years, but one eventually stuck as the most appropriate and popular amongst the wizarding public. Chuckling to himself, Ollivander wondered what the _Daily Prophet_ would think if they knew just how close to the truth they had come when they began calling her 'Potter's Angel.'


End file.
